Black Nerd Problems

by William Evans

  All I’m saying is being on top makes you an easy target, and folks taking shots at Batman all day and tomorrow. I don’t trust billionaires, and the way he takes in children to be his wards and then turns them into vigilantes is… concerning. But we all need some help, right? Not even Batman can do it all alone. Even Batman needs a support system. And a cheering section.

  Okay, he’s rich and white and operates with impunity. He’s probably fine.

  What Happens to a New Fictional Black Character Deferred?

  OMAR HOLMON, aka A Raisin in the Cinnabon

  THE HARDEST THING about being a Black nerd is the patience. Enjoying a story, waiting to see people that look like you appear in it, and then hoping that they’ll have more than a supporting role. This dilemma runs rampant in DC and Marvel comic books when it comes to Black/POC heroes or characters. A good fix for that has been an approach that Marvel Comics has taken with a few long-standing heroes like Wolverine, Captain Marvel, and Nova for example, having POC teens that have been created to take up their mantles. It is a dope idea but not a permanent tactic for representation, because the problem becomes previous heroes and characters of color with long-standing history or a fan base being abandoned.

  Whenever “create new Black or POC characters” is offered as a solution for expanding representation and diversity, I instantly think of the Black characters that were created by Marvel and DC Comics alike, just for this purpose. Those characters are nowhere to be seen today. I’ma expand on that more in a bit. The problem with this assembly line of creating more and more new characters is that we end up with an abundant number of diverse characters with potential that become stuck in comic book limbo. Comic book limbo is basically the Upside Down from Stranger Things, where characters hang out in obscurity. What I’m getting at is if you grew up as a person of color and a comic book fan, you had no idea when you were going to see your favorite character again.

  For instance, Marvel Comics put out a book called The Crew by Christopher Priest back in 2003. There was a biracial (Black and Jewish) member named Kasper Cole in the group who debuted in 2002. Kasper had impersonated the Black Panther in a solo series for a time before getting his own identity as a hero, then becoming the White Tiger and joining the Crew’s series. I rocked with Kasper Cole heavy. When The Crew ended, Kasper Cole wasn’t seen again until he had a small cameo sitting at a hero’s funeral in Captain America: Sam Wilson, vol. 1, #10, thirteen years after his last appearance.

  These characters aren’t just missing in action for a short while. They’re straight missing in fiction for decades. They become raisins in the sun: presented for the moment, then left to dry out. There are so many characters of color created to have their stories told once. I can sound off on a bunch of characters I grew up with (by grew up with I mean been scouring for shreds of cameos and appearances still to this day) and haven’t heard from in years. Let’s get into it.

  Orpheus (Gavin King) was created to be the Black Batman by Alex Simmons and Dwayne Turner in 2001. Gavin King was a Gotham kid that traveled the world and came back to help out in the city. His whole stance was Black people needed to see themselves out there fighting crime as well, and Batman couldn’t be everything to everyone. Fam, King was my dude, woke as fuck, using disguises to get information from police, working as a TV producer by day. And my man. Was. Hilarious. He was part of a six-person crew that was “small but elite.” I’m talking so nice that the computer expert for the hero community, Oracle (at the time Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl), couldn’t gather or hack any information on him. Gavin’s people blocked her at every turn. He even told that shit to Batman too (“Oracle is nice, but my people are good too, bruh”) and then asked if Robin was around ’cause he knew a partner that wanted some pointers from him. I looked for this dude in every Batman and Bat family title after his debut in Orpheus Rising. Son didn’t appear till like a year later in an issue of Birds of Prey, then maybe once more before he was killed off in Batman: War Games. Yeah, a new character that got his story cut off after a year, fam. We didn’t get any expansion into the organization he was involved with that trained him or the other mystery men connected to Orpheus.

  Empress (Anita Fite) showed up in the pages of the Young Justice comic book and she was flourishing as the creation of Peter David and Todd Nauck. Young Justice was a team for the teen heroes that had Robin, Superboy, and Wonder Girl on its roster. Empress was a new member but had her own character development and backstory: her father, Donald Fite, was an agent of a clandestine organization with his partner, Ishido Maad, Anita’s godfather. Anita even had her own villain, the Baron Agua Sin Gaaz, who killed her mother then later her father. When that happened, every teen hero in the DC Universe answered the call to ride with her and attack Zandia, where Agua Sin Gaaz was ducking the 187. Anita’s story is fucking wild. She remains one of the most underused characters in the DC Universe. She hit the scene with a unique set of mystical powers and her dual-bladed emperor’s stick, plus she had the flyest outfit. It had burgundy-colored boots, sash, gloves, and mask. The rest of the fit was like a scale-mail armor like Captain America’s original look, except for Empress the scale was colored gold. Her mask had an opening for her autumn-colored hair to stick out too. Ughhh, I loved it! Anita was well rounded, facing adversity being the new team member and getting treated a type of way from the member she “replaced” and working through it, death, vengeance, and even dating a de-aged Lobo/Slobo. Anita is a character still in her prime but stuck in comic book limbo since her last appearance in issue #38 of Super Girl in 2008.

  Jakeem Thunder (Jakeem Johnny Williams) was the only reason I read Justice Society of America back in the 2000s. Created by Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, and Paul Ryan in 1998, Jakeem was a standoffish kid known for cursing, having an attitude, and being anti-authority. Oh, plus he had control over a magical sprite named Ylzkz that can grant his every wish. However, the wish had to be very specific because the sprite’s power worked extremely literally. This meant Jakeem wielded top-level power, but all he ever wanted was a friend, and Ylzkz became his best friend. When Jakeem’s power was stolen by the Ultra-Humanite villain to take over and reshape the world, Jakeem spent months as part of a resistance team to regain his powers in order to set the world back to normal. This mission took months and caused him to mature very quickly. Once Jakeem got further character development, we saw more of his backstory: his mother died of cancer, his father didn’t know he was born, and he was raised by his aunt but often left alone like a latchkey kid. We saw the effect of Jakeem’s power but never full scale what he could do with mastery over it. We got a young Black boy wielding his own magical genie. Jakeem appearances have always been sporadic in issues of Justice Society. Jakeem’s longest tenure being gone was from his last appearance in 2010 until recently in Teen Titans, vol. 6, #38, in 2020 (in a supporting role).

  Don’t think for a moment that the list stops there. Back in 2002, there was an issue of Superman (vol. 2, #179) that introduced a Black hero named Muhammad X that Superman ran into in Harlem. The story centers around Muhammad X stating, “Superman doesn’t come up to Harlem,” and Clark pondering if there isn’t enough people of color superheroes being seen or recognized, or that he’s actually hurting the Black community by helping. It’s a comic issue on race, but whose story are we talking ’bout here though? Muhammad X’s story? If it’s his story, then why is he only in four pages? This new Black character was made, but we ain’t hearing further into his side of the issue. Not fully, at least, or what brought him to his belief. Nah, this is for Superman’s development. Superman is told by Lois Lane that he’s the most color-blind person she knows. He talks to members of the Justice League about why there aren’t more Black heroes on the roster, asks the younger heroes who their favorite heroes are and why. When Superman runs into Muhammad X a second time, he tells him, “I can’t change the color of my skin… what I try to do is something far more difficult… to be a human being. And hopefully, someday, we’l
l see each other only in that way.” As he flies away, Muhammad X says, “Yeah, well… I guess that’s how you sleep at night.”

  That issue took place in 2002; it’s now about nineteen years later and that is the only appearance of Muhammad X. In 2011 there was supposed to be a story about Superman coming to the aid of Sharif, a hero that was a follower of Islam that was receiving pushback from the people (Americans) he’s trying to help. It was supposed to happen in Superman #712. Sharif was on the cover for the issue. That story didn’t drop and was replaced with a filler story instead. A spokesperson for DC Comics said, “DC Comics determined that the previously solicited story did not work within the ‘Grounded’ storyline.” The “Grounded” storyline was about Superman walking across the United States in search of the real America. Bruh, if you want the real America, it ain’t gonna get any realer than Islamophobia (don’t worry racism, we see you too).

  You can’t tell us we need new heroes for our stories to be told when the heroes already exist and aren’t getting an opportunity to be in the story because they get killed off (Ryan Choi, James Rhodes), sidelined (Eli Bradley, Crimson Avenger II), or shut down before they even have a chance. Meanwhile, we’re just waiting and hoping they appear again somewhere. Which is why it’s so important in film when a person of color is the best actor for the job and gets cast for a historically white role. The average comic book reader has likely never heard of anyone I’ve listed thus far; none of these characters are ever going to have a film to call their own if they’re even lucky enough to make it to television (shout-out to Icon and Rocket on Young Justice). Don’t get me wrong, when Riri Williams came on the scene, reverse engineered Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor, then took over his comic book series as the main character (Tony died), that shit was incredible. However, Tony Stark came back to life, and Riri Williams got her own series and identity as Iron Heart. See, there is a pattern when the new hero of color comes in on a legacy slot. The status quo changes only for a few years (two to three at most).

  Peter Parker was dead for years in Ultimate Universe when Miles Morales took over, then came back to life (as the title was ending, mind you). Miles was no longer the only Spider-Man, then got moved to the main Marvel Universe (Marvel’s 616 Universe) and now serves as the second Spider-Man. Sam Wilson was Captain America while Steve Rogers was aged up and out of commission. Steve Rogers got his youth restored, shared the title of Captain America with Sam, then like clockwork, Sam just went back to his former heroic identity, the Falcon. Now, Kamala Khan is a unique case. She became the new Ms. Marvel, but her legacy slot is safe because there is no one to contest it since the former Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers, became Captain Marvel. So luckily, Kamala will never be demoted from the title of Ms. Marvel and gets to exist as the sole one of that mantle. This isn’t me complaining, I’m just pointing out a pattern a white consumer may not be aware of while their favorite character has three separate titles to flood the market with their story.

  In comic book reboots or revamps, recognizable heroes get revamped or have a person of color successor. This does stretch over into movies as well. We’ve seen Marvel and DC Comics cast heroes, villains, and supporting characters that are white in comics as people of color. Zendaya as M.J. in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Far from Home, Vondie Curtis-Hall as news reporter Ben Urich in Daredevil on Netflix, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and Zoë Kravitz in the upcoming Batman movie. Making fictional characters white is not a time-honored tradition that should be set in stone. Y’all remember when Amandla Stenberg portrayed Rue in The Hunger Games? There was a lot of internet backlash over Rue being cast as Black even tho in the Hunger Games books she is described as having “dark brown skin and eyes.”

  I’ll never forget when I saw this tweet saying, “Kk call me racist but when I found out rue was black her death wasn’t as sad. #ihatemyself”—a fanboy Twitter gem.

  You can say, “But Rue isn’t real,” but if that’s what a certain corner of the internet thinks about a fictional Black girl being killed, I can only imagine how they felt about the news of Black women like Sandra Bland, Korryn Gaines, and Jessica Williams or Black trans women like Mya Hall being killed. They probably still felt nothing because when you’re Black and you die it’s just not as sad. Yeah, I’m going to disagree with that section of the internet like a sixteenth-century judge slamming a gavel down shouting, “Hear ye! Hear ye!” trying to get the court back to order.

  Black/POC characters and stories matter to me in real life as well as in fiction. Which is why I want to see stories of characters of color that have been around longer in Marvel Comics and DC Comics instead of an assembly line of new characters being added into the elephant graveyard that is comic book limbo after a quick supporting role appearance or being pushed to the side for not “selling well.” Listen, if Matt Fraction and David Aja can work their magic to make Hawkeye (the Avenger that the internet clowns every so often) one of the most top-tier comic book series ever put out by Marvel Comics, then anything is possible for characters with the right creative team backing them. There is no excuse. I want to see all the Black characters in comic book limbo get new creative teams (preferably of color) to tell fresh stories with them. I want to see those once-new POC characters that everyone has forgotten about fleshed out and spotlighted more. I’m in my mid-thirties, man, I can’t keep spending decades hoping to see characters of color I’ve been interested in get taken off the bench because I may not have that many years left. I’m just saying, there’s a whole roster of heroes riding the pine waiting for that shine.

  Two Dope Boys and a Comic Book: The Superhero Fade Heard Round the Multiverse

  WILLIAM & OMAR, aka The #1 Pop Culture Color Commentating Tag Team

  BEFORE CHADWICK BOSEMAN made box office waves as the live-action Black Panther in February 2018, writer Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers #40 dropped on January 14, 2015, showing T’Challa the Black Panther making big power moves. All you need to know to start with is T’Challa has had beef with Namor the Sub-Mariner (one of Marvel’s on-again, off-again antiheroes) ever since he flooded Wakanda. T’Challa had to put his grievance aside in order to work with Namor—he reminded Namor that their beef was tabled for now, however, “Every breath you take is mercy from me.” In Avengers #40, T’Challa kicks over the table and makes good on his promise as he draws out the blade his father had bestowed upon him and places it right where it belongs: three feet deep into Namor’s chest cavity.

  Which brings us to our conversation where neither of us could stop talking about the Avengers-on-Avengers crime in these Marvel streets. We decided to document our conversation in order to show how exciting comic books and great storytelling can be.

  WILLIAM: Off the top, let us pay our respects and pour out some salt water for the ankle-winged, super-V-neck king of the Atlantic.

  OMAR: Aquaman said the funeral arrangements for Namor will be held at Joe’s Crab Shack off Fourth Avenue and Smith Street. B.Y.O.B. (Bring. Your. Own. Butter.)

  WILLIAM: So let’s back up, cuz the fam been waiting for this shit since Namor gave the greatest city on Earth the “Noah Ultimatum” in Avengers vs. X-Men. People been waiting on him to catch those bars like Walking Dead fans were wishing walker outbreaks on Andrea.

  OMAR: Namor been too comfortable in Marvel post-fuckboy acts. He then proceeded to have Wakanda attacked AGAIN. Yo, his Atlantean/white privilege was showing its whole ass. Meanwhile, T’Challa was listening to “Ghost of Christopher Wallace” as his dad told him, “You best clap that boi.”

  WILLIAM: Bruh, we gotta give the Lord and Savior Jonathan Hickman some credit, Da Gawd told us two years ago, in issue #2 of New Avengers, this shit was coming. This was his Black Dynamite “I threw that shit before I walked in the room” moment.

  OMAR: I’m wondering how he proposed this to Marvel. Hickman: “Sooo you know your boy Namor, one of ya oldest characters, arguably the first mutant?… Yeah, him. T’Challa gon’ make him bait for Shark Week in this run.” Marvel: “You can’t
do—” Hickman: “Shh—shh—shhhhhh. But I did and I will.”

  WILLIAM: I really hope that twenty minutes before the Marvel movie announcements, that there was one called The Atlantean King and Hickman picked up a phone, dialed a number like, “Hey. Yeah, it’s Jonathan. No, don’t worry about the greeting, you didn’t know it was me. Anyways, that Namor movie? Yeah, uh-huh. Well, you might want to pull that one. You can hint at that shit later, but I got other plans. I know you got graphics already and a date. I’m just telling you it ain’t gonna happen.”

  OMAR: Here’s the thing about this too… who hates that it had to be Namor? For real? Who hates that it had to be him? NO ONE, BOO BOO! NOT. ONE. BODY.

  WILLIAM: Naw, I mean, he had one of the hardest moments in this run when he stood up as a representative of our Earth-616 and told them heroes from Earth-4290001 it was time to pass the sticks, but who out there rockin’ #NamorWasRight shirts today?

  OMAR: Namor is going to be remembered entirely for how he died (for however long that is). He always said he did what had to be done, which may be true, but that shit caught up with him.